David Allen Russell was killed in action while on a combat photo mission in
the Mekong delta, Chau Doc Province. His brother, Donald, remembers being told that
David was the only photographer in the field that day and that David was the first
to see the sniper ahead. David’s last act was to warn the others behind him of the
danger.

The Russell family still keeps the memory of David alive. In 2009, as
he had done every year, David's father, Dick, had the Sunday Mass on March 15th
at St. Francis Xavier dedicated to David for the 40th Anniversary of his death. It's
always been ironic to the family that David died on St. Patrick's day. David's brother,
Donald, was there when they got the news, "I can remember when the two Army men came
to our house and personally informed my father .. immediately tears were flowing
.. all I could think of was Mom .. she wasn't home .. Dad wanted to be with her when
she found out .. when she did find out she was devastated .. the Army said David
was a hero. He gave his life for his country. Our family could only think that we
had lost a son and a brother. We loved David. He was kind and caring and giving and
all the wonderful things a brother could be .... and he could throw a baseball as
hard anyone"

From the age of 8, David's big passion was baseball. He was good at it.
So good that he eventually was given a tryout as a pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles.
He was an avid American league fan.

David's interest in photography developed after high school when he got a
job at the Naval Air Station. Eventually, he was assigned to photograph aircraft
on the catapult on large carriers including Enterprise, Kitty Hawk, Lexington and
others. This led to David joining the Army and being assigned to the 221st Signal
Company in Vietnam where he had assignments as varied as boxing matches and covering
Evangelist Billy Graham's tour. The family remembers that David had purchased a special
camera while in Vietnam and hoped to work in photography when he was out of the service.

David has three sisters and five brothers. David's younger brother, Donald,
served five yearsin the Air Force and another 32 years at Pax River for the Navy as
a government service employee. Donald, and the Russell family, would be very grateful
to hear from anyone who knew David donaldrussell20659@yahoo.com